Indexing terminal with splitter

ABSTRACT

A terminal arrangement includes an indexing terminal including a housing that includes first and second multi-fiber de-mateable connection locations. Indexed optical fibers extend between the first and second multi-fiber de-mateable connection locations. Drop fibers extend between an optical splitter module within the indexing terminal and each of the first and second multi-fiber de-mateable connection locations. An optical line extends from the optical splitter module to the housing exterior and to an optical splitter within a separate splitter terminal.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 15/417,966,filed Jan. 27, 2017, which is a continuation of application Ser. No.14/755,380, filed Jun. 30, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,557,498, whichapplication claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No.62/094,424, filed Dec. 19, 2014, and titled “Coding System forFacilitating installing a Fiber Optic Network,” which applications areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to equipment for fiber opticcommunications networks. More particularly, the present disclosurerelates to the components of passive optical networks and methods fordeploying the same.

BACKGROUND

Passive optical networks are becoming prevalent in part because serviceproviders want to deliver high bandwidth communication capabilities tocustomers. Passive optical networks are a desirable choice fordelivering high-speed communication data because they may not employactive electronic devices, such as amplifiers and repeaters, between acentral office and a subscriber termination. The absence of activeelectronic devices may decrease network complexity and/or cost and mayincrease network reliability.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to coding systems thatfacilitate efficiently and effectively deploying a fiber optic network.In certain examples, the coding system can include coded dust caps foroptical components. The coded dust caps can include dust caps providedon fiber optic connectors terminating fiber optic cables. The coded dustcaps can also include dust caps secured within fiber optic adapterssuited for receiving fiber optic connectors. In certain examples, thefiber optic connectors and fiber optic adapters can includehardened/ruggedized and sealed constructions for outdoor environmentaluse. In certain examples, the connectors, adapters, and dust caps caninclude twist-to-lock interfaces. In certain examples, the dust caps caninclude identifying indicia such as identifying colors, identifyingmarkings, identifying shapes, identifying letters, identifying symbols,identifying numbers or the like. In certain examples, the identifyingindicia can be coordinated between optical components intended to becoupled together so that an installer in the field can readily recognizeand identify which components should be coupled together.

A variety of additional aspects will be set forth in the descriptionthat follows. These aspects can relate to individual features and tocombinations of features. It is to be understood that both the foregoinggeneral description and the following detailed description are exemplaryand explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broad concepts uponwhich the embodiments disclosed herein are based.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the presentdisclosure and together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the disclosure. A brief description of the drawings is asfollows:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a fiber distribution line where signal travelis bi-directional used in systems in accordance with the principles ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of an indexing terminal in accordance with theprinciples of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic of two indexing terminals as shown in FIG. 2 daisychained together;

FIG. 4 is a schematic of an indexing terminal having a splitter thatcombines optical signals from different indexing directions and outputsthe signals to an output of the indexing terminal;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of ruggedized multi-fiber connectors thatcan be used in systems and components of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a first side perspective view of an indexing terminal housingwith the dust caps removed from the corresponding cables, which areshown offset from the indexing terminal housing;

FIG. 7 is a second side perspective view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a first side perspective view of the indexing terminal housingof FIG. 6 except that the dust caps are disposed on the correspondingcables;

FIG. 9 is a second side perspective view of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic depiction of a splitter terminal that may beincorporated into architectures in accordance with the principles of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a depiction of a universal drop cable that may beincorporated into architectures in accordance with the principles of thepresent disclosure; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic depiction of a drop terminal that may beincorporated into architectures in accordance with the principles of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary aspects of thepresent disclosure that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughoutthe drawings to refer to the same or like structure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a fiber optic network 800 that incorporates anexample bidirectional indexing architecture 800 that can be efficientlydeployed using indexing terminals in accordance with the principles ofthe present disclosure. The bidirectional architecture assists inmaximizing the capacity of the network and/or for providing redundantlines to given drop locations.

Referring to FIG. 1, the fiber optic network architecture 800 includesfirst fiber optic lines A1-A12 and second fiber optic lines B1-B12routed at least partially along a route 802 that extends past aplurality of drop locations 804. The fiber optic network architecture800 also includes a plurality of multi-fiber optical connectors 642(e.g., HMFOC connectors) positioned along the route 802. The fiber opticlines A1-A12 and B1-B12 extend through the multi-fiber opticalconnectors 642. The multi-fiber optical connectors 642 each have aplurality of consecutive fiber positions P1-P12 for receiving opticalfibers corresponding to the fiber optic lines A1-A12 and B1-B12.

The fiber optic lines A1-A12 are indexed in a first indexing direction806 along the consecutive fiber positions P1-P12 of the multi-fiberoptical connectors 642 as the fiber optic lines A1-A12 extend in a firstroute direction 808 along the route 802. The fiber optic lines A1-A12are progressively dropped from the route 802 to subscriber connectionpoints 810 at the drop locations 804 by progressively indexing the fiberoptic lines A1-A12 to one of the consecutive fiber positions P1-P12 thatis a first predetermined drop position 812 (e.g., P1).

The fiber optic lines B1-B12 are indexed in a second indexing direction814 along the consecutive fiber positions P1-P12 as the fiber opticlines B1-B12 extend in a second route direction 816 along the route 802.The optical fiber lines B1-B12 are progressively dropped from the route802 to subscriber connection points 818 at the drop locations 804 byprogressively indexing the fiber optic lines to another of theconsecutive fiber positions P1-P12 that is a second predetermined dropposition 820 (e.g., P12). The second predetermined drop position 820 isa different one of the consecutive fiber positions P1-P12 as compared tothe first predetermined drop position 812. Also, the first indexingdirection 806 is opposite from the second indexing direction 814.Moreover, the first route direction 808 is opposite from the secondroute direction 816.

It will be appreciated that the architecture 800 is depictedschematically and that additional multi-fiber optical connectors (e.g.,HMFOC connectors) can be added into the architecture 800. Additionally,single fiber optical ports such as ruggedized fiber optic adapters canbe provided at the subscriber connection points 810, 818. Moreover,various indexing terminals can be strung serially together in a daisychain to form the architecture 800.

In the depicted embodiment, the multi-fiber optical connectors 642 are12-fiber optical connectors. In other examples, the multi-fiber opticalconnectors 642 can include at least 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 or more opticalfibers.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the first optical lines A1-A12 and the secondoptical lines B1-B12 extend to a common location such as a centraloffice 822. In this way, the optical fiber lines A1-A12 and the opticalfiber lines B1-B12 cooperate to form a fiber loop.

As the terms are used herein, ruggedized optical connectors andruggedized optical adapters are configured to mate together to form anenvironmental seal. Some non-limiting example ruggedized opticalconnector interfaces suitable for use with an indexing terminal aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,744,288, 7,762,726, 7,744,286, 7,942,590,and 7,959,361, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated hereinby reference.

The terminals can include hardened/ruggedized multi-fiber opticalconnectors (HMFOC). HMFOC's can include environmental seals for sealingthe connectors in outside environments. HMFOC's can include fastenerssuch as threaded or bayonet-style fasteners for providing robustconnector-to connector mechanical connections. HMFOC's can include maleconnectors on cables, female connectors on cables, ports/adapters onhousings and other structures. HMFOC's can include multi-fiber ferrulesincluding fiber receiving arrangements defining a plurality of fiberreceiving positions. In certain examples, the fiber receiving positionscan be arranged in one or more rows of fiber receiving positions. FIG. 4shows example mating male and female HMFOC connectors 600 a, 600 b. Themale and female connectors 600 a, 600 b include intermatable mechanicalcoupling interfaces. For example, the male connector 600 a includes aninternally threaded nut 602 a that threads on a threaded portion 602 bof the female connector 600 b. Also, the male connector 600 a includes aplug portion 604 with openings 606, 608 that mate with projections 610,611 of the female connector 600 b to provide alignment during coupling.The connectors 600 a, 600 b include ferrules 614 a, 614 b having fiberreceiving arrangements that include fiber receiving positions 616 (e.g.,a row of twelve fiber receiving positions) that align when theconnectors 600 a, 600 b are mated to provide optical connections betweenthe optical fiber supported by the ferrules 614 a, 614 b. Furtherdetails of example HMFOC connectors are disclosed at U.S. Pat. No.7,264,402, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The terminals can also include hardened single fiber connectors (DLX).Hardened single fiber connectors can include environmental seals forsealing the connectors in outside environments. Hardened single fiberconnectors can include fasteners such as threaded fasteners forproviding robust connector-to connector mechanical connections. Hardenedsingle fiber connectors can include male connectors on cables, femaleconnectors on cables, ports/adapters on housings and other structures.Hardened single fiber connectors can include ferrules supporting singlefibers. Further details about example hardened single fiber connectorsand adapters are disclosed at U.S. Pat. No. 7,959,361, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

The terminals can also include non-ruggedized connectors such asstandard single fiber connectors (e.g., SC plugs, SC adapters, LC plugs,LC adapters, ST plugs, ST adapters, etc.) or standard multi-fiberconnectors (e.g., MPO plugs and/or MPO adapters).

FIG. 2 illustrates an indexing terminal 20 in accordance with theprinciples of the present disclosure suitable for supporting abidirectional indexing architecture such as the bidirectional indexingarchitecture shown at FIG. 1. The indexing terminal 20 includes amulti-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 22, a firstsingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 24 and a secondsingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 26. Themulti-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 22 includes aplurality of fiber positions labeled P1-P12. One of the fiber positionsP1-P12 is coupled to the first single-fiber ruggedized de-mateableconnection location 24. For example, as shown at FIG. 2, the fiberposition P12 is optically connected to the first single-fiber ruggedizedde-mateable connection location 24 by an optical pigtail 28 terminatedby a non-ruggedized fiber optic connector 30 that connects to the firstsingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 24.

In certain examples, the multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocation 22 is an HMFOC adapter of the type disclosed at U.S. Pat. No.7,264,402. A dust cap 32 a can be used to close an exterior port of themulti-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 22 when acorresponding multi-fiber ruggedized connector is not received therein.The first and second single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocations 24, 26 can be defined by ruggedized, single-fiber adapters ofthe type disclosed at U.S. Pat. No. 7,959,361. Dust caps 36 a can beused to enclose exterior ports of the first and second single-fiberruggedized de-mateable connection locations 24, 26 when correspondingruggedized single-fiber connectors (e.g., ruggedized single-fiberconnectors 78, shown at FIGS. 5 and 6, having dust caps 36 b) are notreceived therein. The dust caps 36 a, 36 b can have coordinated/matchingindicia. The connectors 78 can terminate the ends of fiber optic cables79 (see FIGS. 3 and 5-10). In certain examples, the indexing terminal 20can include a housing 38 on which the multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateableconnection location 22, the first single-fiber ruggedized de-mateableconnection location 24 and the second single-fiber ruggedizedde-mateable connection location 26 are provided. In certain examples,the housing 38 can have a polymeric (e.g., plastic) construction that isrelatively rigid in nature. In certain examples, housing 38 can beenvironmentally sealed and suitable for outdoor use.

Referring still to FIG. 2, the indexing terminal 20 further includes atether 40 having a first end 42 terminated by a ruggedized multi-fiberoptical connector 44 (e.g., an HMFOC connector). The ruggedizedmulti-fiber optical connector 44 has a plurality of fiber positionslabeled P1-P12. One of the fiber positions is optically coupled to thesecond single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 26.Others of the fiber positions P1-P12 of the ruggedized multi-fiberoptical connector 44 are optically coupled to the multi-fiber ruggedizedde-mateable connection location 22. The plurality of fiber lines A1-A12are provided for making such optical connections. For example, in thedepicted embodiment, fiber line A1 optically connects position P1 of theruggedized multi-fiber optical connector 44 to the second single-fiberruggedized de-mateable connection location 26. In one example, the fiberline A1 can be a connectorized pigtail having an end terminated by anon-ruggedized fiber optic connector 46 (e.g., an SC-type connector)that is inserted into an interior port of the second non-fiberruggedized de-mateable connection location 26. The fiber lines A2-A12are shown optically connecting the ruggedized multi-fiber opticalconnector 44 to the multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocation 22. The fiber lines A2-A12 are indexed such that the fiberlines A2-A12 are connected to different fiber positions at theruggedized multi-fiber optical connector 44 as compared to at themulti-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 22. For example,the fiber lines A2-A12 are shown indexed one position so as to berespectively coupled to positions P1-P11 of the multi-fiber ruggedizedde-mateable connection location 22.

In certain examples, the ruggedized multi-fiber optical connector 44includes a dust cap 32 b for protecting a ferrule and/or fiber end facesof the connector 44 when the ruggedized multi-fiber optical connector 44is de-mated from another connector. The dust caps 32 a, 32 b can havecoordinated/matching indicia.

In certain examples, the tether 40 is a stub cable that interfaces withthe housing 38 of the indexing terminal 20 at a pass-through location50. In certain examples, a boot 52 can be provided at the pass-throughlocation 50 for providing strain relief and other reinforcement to thetether 40. In certain examples, the tether 40 is a relatively short stubthat can be less than 2 feet or less than 1 foot in length. In suchexamples, the indexing terminal 20 can be daisy chained to a legterminal by a patch cord of extended length having a first ruggedizedmulti-fiber connector that mates with the ruggedized multi-fiber opticalconnector 44 and a second ruggedized multi-fiber connector that mateswith the multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 22 ofthe like indexing terminal. In other embodiments, the stub cable formedby the tether 40 can be relatively long (e.g., more than 500 feet ormore than 1,000 feet in length). In such examples, the indexing terminal20 can be coupled to a like indexing terminal by directly mating theruggedized multi-fiber optical connector 44 with the multi-fiberruggedized de-mateable connection location 22 of the like indexingterminal.

In alternative embodiments, the pass-through location 50 described abovecan be replaced with a multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocation similar to the multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocation 22. In this type of example, an extended patch cord havingopposite ends terminated by ruggedized multi-fiber optical connectorscan be used to couple the indexing terminal to a like terminal.

FIG. 3 shows a portion of a fiber optic network having bidirectionalindexing architecture. The fiber optic network includes a plurality ofthe indexing terminals 20 daisy chained together. To daisy chainmultiple indexing terminals 20 together, the ruggedized multi-fiberoptical connectors 44 of the tethers 40 are coupled with the multi-fiberruggedized de-mateable connection locations 22 of adjacent indexingterminals 20 to form a string of the indexing terminals 20. The firstand second single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection locations 24,26 can be connected to splitter terminals 100 or other structures bycables 79. Cables 79 are depicted as patch cables having ruggedizedsingle-fiber connectors 78 at each end. In one example, the cables 79can be relatively short in length (e.g., less than 50 feet).

In some implementations, each of the single-fiber ruggedized de-mateableconnection locations 24, 26 can receive an optical fiber carrying one ofthe dropped fiber optic lines A1-A12, B1-B12. In certain examples, theindexing terminal 20 can include an optical splitter 25 that outputsoptical signals onto one optical fiber 27 routed to one of thesingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection locations 24, 26. In someexamples, the optical splitter 25 can receive two inputs to provideredundancy in case of a break in one of the fiber lines. For example,the optical splitter 25 can receive one of the dropped fiber optic linesA1-A12 from the first indexing direction 806 and one of the droppedfiber optic lines B1-B12 from the second indexing direction 814 and canoutput any received optical signal to the optical fiber 27. Accordingly,optical signals can be provided to the optical fiber 27 via either theone of the first lines A1-A12 or the one of the second lines B1-B12. Thecable 79 is optically coupled to the optical fiber 27 at the respectivesingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection locations 24, 26.

Each splitter terminal 100 (shown schematically at FIG. 10) can includean optical power splitter 120 (e.g., a passive optical power splitter)that split signals from the cables 79 into a plurality (e.g., four,eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, etc.) of output signals. Theoptical power splitter 120 can be contained within a protective outerhousing 122. Outputs 124 of the power splitter 120 can be opticallycoupled to a plurality of ruggedized de-mateable connection locations onthe protective outer housings. The ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocations coupled to the splitter outputs 124 can include single-fiberruggedized de-mateable connection locations 102 and multi-fiberruggedized de-mateable connection locations 104.

One of the connectors 78 of one of the cables 79 can be received at asingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 106 of thesplitting terminals 100. The single-fiber ruggedized de-mateableconnection location 106 can include a dust cap 36 a having the sameindicia as the dust caps 36 b of the connectors 78 (e.g., see FIG. 9).The single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 106 can beoptically coupled to the input side of the passive optical powersplitter 120. In one example, each of the splitter terminals 100 caninclude 1×32 passive optical power splitter and can include two twelvefiber multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection locations 104 andeight single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection locations 102.

The single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection locations 102 can becoupled to subscriber locations 200 by cables 300 (see FIG. 11). Thecables 300 can include ruggedized, single fiber connectors 302 at firstends 301 and non-ruggedized, single fiber connectors 304 at the oppositesecond ends 303. The ruggedized, single fiber connectors 302 at thefirst ends 301 of the cables 300 can be configured to mate with thesingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection locations 102 (e.g., seeFIG. 10). The ruggedized, single fiber connectors 302 can include dustcaps 305 a and the single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocations 102 can include dust caps 305 b (FIG. 10) having indiciacoordinated or matching with the dust caps 305 a. The second ends 303 ofthe cables 300 can be routed into the subscriber premises and thenon-ruggedized single fiber connectors 304 can be coupled to opticalequipment (e.g, a network interface device) at the subscriber premises.An example cable 300 is disclosed at U.S. Pat. No. 8,224,141 which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection locations 104 can becoupled to drop terminals 400 (e.g., see FIG. 12) having a plurality ofsingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection locations 402 each havinga dust cap 305 b coordinated with the dust caps 305 a of the ruggedized,single fiber connectors 302 at the first ends 301 of the cables 300.Each single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 402 isconfigured to mate with the ruggedized, single-fiber connector 302 ofthe cable 300, thereby allowing the cable 300 to be used to couple aselected port of the drop terminal 400 to a subscriber location.

In the example shown in FIG. 12, the drop terminal 400 is mounted to aspool 410. A multi-fiber tether 406 is routed to the drop terminal 400.Optical fibers of the tether 406 are optically coupled to thesingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection locations 402. The tether406 is terminated at a free end 405 by a ruggedized, multi-fiberconnector 408 adapted to mate with the multi-fiber ruggedizedde-mateable connection locations 104. The multi-fiber connector 408includes a dust cap 409 a having indicia that matches indicia of dustcaps 409 b provided at the multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocations 104. The tether 406 is wrapped around the spool 410. The spool410 is coupled to the drop terminal 400. To deploy the tether, the spool410 and the drop terminal 400 are rotated in unison about an axis ofrotation 411 as the tether 406 is paid out from the spool 410. Therotation can be allowed though the use of a bearing arrangement around amandrel or a Lazy Susan. An example drop terminal configuration of thistype is disclosed at U.S. Publication No. 2012/0025005, the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to coding systems that usecoded dust caps to facilitate efficiently and effectively deploying afiber optic network. In certain examples, the dust caps can includeidentifying indicia such as identifying colors, identifying markings,identifying shapes, identifying letters, identifying symbols,identifying numbers or the like. In certain examples, the identifyingindicia can be coordinated between optical components intended to becoupled together so that an installer in the field can readily recognizeand identify which components should be coupled together.

For example, the dust caps 32 a, 32 b have matching indicia (e.g., thesame color such as the color green) so that an installer can quicklyrecognize that the network architecture dictates that the multi-fiberruggedized connection locations 22 are intended to be couple to theruggedized multi-fiber optical connectors 44 so as to daisy chain theindexing terminals 20 together. Also, the dust caps 36 a, 36 b havematching indicia (e.g., the same color such as the color red) so that aninstaller can quickly recognize that the patch cables 79 terminated withconnectors 78 are intended to be coupled between the single-fiberruggedized de-mateable connection locations 24, 26 and the single-fiberruggedized connection locations 106 of the splitter terminals 100.Further, the dust caps 409 a, 409 b have matching indicia (e.g., thesame color such as the color blue) so that an installer will quicklyrecognize that the multi-fiber connectors 408 on the tethers 406 of thedrop terminals 400 are intended to mate with the ruggedized multi-fiberde-mateable connection locations 104 of the splitter terminals 100.Moreover, the dust caps 305 a, 305 b have matching indicia (e.g., thesame color such as the color black) so that an installer will quicklyrecognize that the ruggedized single-fiber connectors 304 of the cables300 are intended to mate with the single-fiber ruggedized de-mateableconnection locations 102 of the splitter terminals 100 or the ruggedizedsingle-fiber de-mateable connection locations 402 of the drop terminal400.

FIGS. 6-9 further depict one example indexing terminal 20 having ahousing 38 with opposite first and second ends 70, 72. The tether 40interfaces with the housing 38 at the first end 70 and extends outwardlyfrom the first end 70 of the housing 38 in a first direction 74. Themulti-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 22, the firstsingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 24, and thesecond single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 26 areprovided at the second end 72 of the housing 38.

Exterior ports of the multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocation 22 faces in a second direction 76 that is diametricallyopposite from the first direction 74. In some implementations, the firstsingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 24 and thesecond single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 26 faceat least partially in the second direction 76. In certain examples, thefirst single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 24 and thesecond single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 26 can beangled relative to the multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocation 22 to face only partially in the second direction.

In the example shown, the housing 38 includes opposite major sidesinterconnected by a generally cylindrical sidewall. The multi-fiberruggedized de-mateable connection location 22, the first single-fiberruggedized de-mateable connection location 24, and the secondsingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 26 are providedon the cylindrical sidewall. The tether 40 passes through thecylindrical sidewall.

The multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location 22 is definedby a ruggedized, multi-fiber adapter configured for receiving aruggedized multi-fiber optical connector such as the ruggedizedmulti-fiber optical connector 44 of a like indexing terminal. Theexterior port defined by the multi-fiber ruggedized de-mateableconnection location 22 defines an interior diameter sized for receivingthe ruggedized multi-fiber optical connector 44 of a like indexingterminal 20.

The first and second single-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connectionlocations 24, 26 can be defined by ruggedized fiber optic adapters. Suchruggedized fiber optic adapters can define internal diameters sized forreceiving corresponding ruggedized fiber optic connectors 78corresponding to cables such as cables 79.

In certain examples of the present disclosure, the dust caps have aruggedized, environmentally sealed construction. In certain examples,the dust caps are secured to their respective ruggedized connectionlocation by a twist-to-lock interface such as a threaded interface, abayonet-style interface, or other interface.

Various modifications and alterations of this disclosure will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeand spirit of this disclosure, and it should be understood that thescope of this disclosure is not to be unduly limited to the illustrativeexamples set forth herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fiber optic terminal arrangement comprising: anindexing terminal including: an indexing terminal housing including afirst multi-fiber de-mateable connection location and a secondmulti-fiber de-mateable connection location, each of the first andsecond multi-fiber de-mateable connection locations defining arespective sequence of fiber positions; a plurality of indexed opticalfibers extending between the first multi-fiber de-mateable connectionlocation and the second multi-fiber de-mateable connection location, theplurality of indexed optical fibers having first ends disposed at thefiber positions of the first multi-fiber de-mateable connection locationand second ends disposed at offset ones of the fiber positions of thesecond multi-fiber de-mateable connection location; an optical splittermodule disposed within the indexing terminal; a first drop fiberextending between the first multi-fiber de-mateable connection locationand the optical splitter module; a second drop fiber extending betweenthe second multi-fiber de-mateable connection location and the opticalsplitter module; and an optical line extending from the optical splittermodule to an exterior of the indexing terminal housing; and a splitterterminal separate from the indexing terminal, the splitter terminalincluding an optical splitter configured to receive the optical line andto split optical signals carried over the optical line onto splitteroutput lines.
 2. The fiber optic terminal arrangement of claim 1,wherein the indexing terminal housing includes a single-fiber ruggedizedde-mateable connection location to which a portion of the optical lineextends.
 3. The fiber optic terminal arrangement of claim 2, wherein theoptical line includes a cable that is optically coupled to thesingle-fiber ruggedized de-mateable connection location, the cable beingdisposed outside the indexing terminal housing.
 4. The fiber opticterminal arrangement of claim 1, wherein the splitter output lines ofthe optical splitter are directed to a multi-fiber de-mateableconnection location of the splitter terminal.
 5. The fiber opticterminal arrangement of claim 4, wherein the multi-fiber de-mateableconnection location is ruggedized.
 6. The fiber optic terminalarrangement of claim 4, wherein the multi-fiber de-mateable connectionlocation of the splitter terminal is one of a plurality of multi-fiberde-mateable connection locations to which splitter output lines extend.7. The fiber optic terminal arrangement of claim 1, wherein the outputlines of the optical splitter are directed to respective single-fiberde-mateable connection locations.
 8. The fiber optic terminalarrangement of claim 1, wherein the optical splitter includes an opticalpower splitter.
 9. The fiber optic terminal arrangement of claim 8,wherein the optical power splitter includes a passive optical powersplitter.
 10. The fiber optic terminal arrangement of claim 1, whereinthe first multi-fiber de-mateable connection location is disposed at anopposite side of the indexing terminal housing from the secondmulti-fiber de-mateable connection location.
 11. The fiber opticterminal arrangement of claim 1, wherein the indexing terminal housingis rounded.
 12. The fiber optic terminal arrangement of claim 1, furthercomprising a drop terminal coupled to the splitter output lines.